ProThaiExpat Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 Faithfully reading all retirement posts for three years still doesn't give me a clue regarding this issue. Help please, all, Loburi3 particularly. In Oz now, daughter's first baby delivery and after care will carry me past my retirement extention expire date, if I do not make a "visa run" back to Thailand to renew my yearly retirement extention. Do I need to come back to renew my retirement extention prior to its expiration? 18 hours on a plane is highly undesireable for me but going through the uncertainty and documentation to obtain a new retirement non-immagrant O visa and one year extention in Bkk again, may be more onerous than the flights? Your thoughts on this issue would be very much appreciated. PS I have a single re-entry permit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProThaiExpat Posted November 17, 2005 Author Share Posted November 17, 2005 Second Thought: Can I send my passport with my Thai when he makes Aussie visa run to BKK and have him get my extention for me in BKK? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaiflyer1 Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 My thoughts would be you are going to have to return or start the process over again.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 Believe you would have to do yourself. If you can not get back just obtain a new O visa (single entry fine) and use that to obtain the retirement extension again 60 days after you return. Should not be a problem as the retirement requirements paperwork is not that great and very defined when done in Thailand (and is the same each time). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaiflyer1 Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 (edited) The only chance you may have (a longshot) is to give a Consul a ring in Oz and see if they can obtain the approval from Immigration in Bangkok for you and issue the stamp.................i/m only basing this on the following from the MFA website, 3. NON-IMMIGRANT VISA 6. EXTENSION OF STAY N.B. Applicants wishing to stay in the Kingdom longer than 90 days, have to file their application either at the Thai consular mission aboard or at the Office ofImmigration Bureau in Bangkok located on Soi Suan Plu, off South Sathorn Road,Bangkok 10120 , Tel (662) 287-3101-10 (or website at (http://www.police.go.th/thaiimb/frconten.htm ) . The consular officer must refer the case to the Office of Immigration Bureau for approval. Upon receiving approval, the consular officer may issue the visa as instructed by the Bureau. I realise this really refers to OA class visa's but you never know your luck ............you have nothing to lose except the price of a phone call anyway. If the above is a non starter you could do as Lopburi says or apply for a new OA class visa before leaving home thereby saving you the hassle of extending here. Edited November 18, 2005 by thaiflyer1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 It is normally much less paperwork to do it here in Thailand and as they already have a file here I would not bother with the O-A process myself. He has other things to keep him busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaiflyer1 Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 It is normally much less paperwork to do it here in Thailand and as they already have a file here I would not bother with the O-A process myself. He has other things to keep him busy. Yeah i suppose so. I normally end up twiddling my thumbs and counting the days down when back in the UK . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimGant Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 (edited) Just out of curiosity..........does anyone have experience..........? If the situation had been discussed with Immigration in Thailand before leaving the country, how flexible are they in doing the renewal drill several weeks (month?) ahead of time? (Doesn't help PTE, unfortunately.) Edited November 18, 2005 by JimGant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProThaiExpat Posted November 18, 2005 Author Share Posted November 18, 2005 Thank you for the comments. I had such a negative experience with Sydney Thai Counsulate when I tried to get my original retirement non-imm O that I have no hope of any help from them. Why am I under the impression that so many Thais get visa stamps for falang without the falang being present at immigration? Is this "agent" obtained visa stamp restricted to a certain class of visas? Assume falang is disabled and unable to travel to immigration to get a one year extention. Can't a Thai do it for him with appropriate documentation? Now I am begining to sound like a newbie that won't take no for an answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaihome Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 Up until about 2 years ago, we never went to immigration for renewals. Since then personal appearance has been required, including dependents. I am under the impression that for us, this was a management decision to stop paying extra "agent" fee. I think there is very good chance you need to make the trip or start over. Personally, I would not send my passport there to try and get it done. TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefan Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 It brings up an interesting point. One should try to time ones arrival/application as to ensure that yearly visa extensions are up for renewal in time period where most likely in the country. (Naturally child birth in family not that easy to guestimate - but I am thinking popular holidays or other yearly events one might have abroad). Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwood13 Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 Just out of curiosity..........does anyone have experience..........?If the situation had been discussed with Immigration in Thailand before leaving the country, how flexible are they in doing the renewal drill several weeks (month?) ahead of time? (Doesn't help PTE, unfortunately.) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Jim, there are a couple of reports on another board from guys who received early extensions of O-A visas. One in Bangkok and the other in Pattaya. One guy needed surgery in the US. Needed to show airline tickets, a letter stating reason for request and all the usual paperwork for the extension. They were able to do this 2+ months prior to their permitted to stay date and got an extension of 365 days in addition to the 2+ months. -redwood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 As said the time to make such a request is before travel and if you have reason they are likely to try and help you. As for sending a passport back to Thailand and having friend do the visa process forget it. Your passport clearly shows you are not here and that will not be missed by immigration (no TM.6 card). And I still do not believe they would do it anyhow except in a known special case. I don't know of any agent getting one year extension of stay stamps but admit I am not the best source of that type of knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProThaiExpat Posted November 18, 2005 Author Share Posted November 18, 2005 Every post so far has been helpful and informative and I extend my heartfelt thanks. My current plan, subject to revision if a brainwave is posted, is to go hat in hand to the Thai Counsulate in Sydney and attempt to get a non-immigrant O, ignoring my current one that has an extention until May 2006. My desired return date to Thailand is September 2006. I called a Capt. at Chiang Mai immigration, one who I had written a praise letter for this year, and she said personal appearance is required to extend a non-immigrant O based on retirement, as have most posters said. She suggested, as lopburi3 has, getting a new non-immigrant O and then extending it when I get back to BKK in September. As some posters have suggested, cure my ultimate problem of my expiry date occuring when I am on my annual visit to my daughter. By getting a new non-imm O and extending it in BKK in October, I will in effect be moving my annual extention date to a month where I expect to always be in Thailand. I expect difficulty with Sydney Thai Counsulate, as I suspect when she sees my current valid extention, she will be reluctant to issue a new non-O until it expires. I am not sure I want to take the chance of being caused to get a tourist visa and then converting it in BKK to non-O and then get an extention, as when I did that three years ago, it took over a month. There is a chance that when I let my current extention expire, the Sydney Counsulte might have a different staff member or a different memory of their telling me they will issue a new non-imm O when my current one with extention expires. It is at times like these that I contemplate changing my screen name to AntiThaiExpat. Mea Culpa for not thinking of the extention issue befor leaving Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 Remember in any planning for the future that the extension starts from the day last entered Thailand so if you enter in September 2006 you would ask for extension in November/December 2006 and each following year in September. Your entry date is the key to the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricardo Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 I've heard that, at Chiang Mai Immigration, it was possible to apply for your 365-day extension on a retirement-basis, up to 28 days before it was due for renewal. As luck would have it - I was unaware of this when booking my ticket 5 months earlier so flew out 30 days before the due-date, and had to make sure to return, a week beforehand - rather than start again from scratch. Mai pen rai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimGant Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 They were able to do this 2+ months prior to their permitted to stay date and got an extension of 365 days in addition to the 2+ months. Nice to know. I guess the other side of the Immigration coin -- with its vagaries and inconsistencies -- is that such flexibility *has the potential* to be helpful. [but, even with a smile and a haircut, there's always the chance your Immigration Officer has just begun PMS...... ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axel Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 Should you ever consider to go for PR, bear in mind, you must have at least 3 years worth of extentions on the same non-imm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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